How do we decide that we have the right solution? (II) Ethical and political considerations in designing artifacts.

Graduate: 3/17
Undergrad: 3/18

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Overview

Just as we must consider values in deciding whether to accept a hypothesis, so too, deciding whether a proposed tool or technique is the right solution to a technical problem is more than a matter of determining (in a value-free way) whether the technology “works.” The design of artifacts does more than solve the problem at hand; it reshapes the built environment and our daily lives. Choices of technology can be used to settle political issues, creates advantages and disadvantages to different groups, and requires or encourages certain sociopolitical institutions. As such, technological decisions are ethical and political decisions, rather than “merely technical.”

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